Annular Solar Eclipse {10 May 2013}

Last year we had the privilege of traveling to Queensland and witnessing a Total Solar Eclipse.  It was an amazing experience. A week ago Melbourne experienced an early morning Annular Solar eclipse and we made a spur of the moment decision the evening before to drive to Ballarat Observatory to enjoy breakfast with them and the eclipse.

The sunrise that morning was spectacular and we enjoyed the beautiful colours that danced across the morning skies.

We arrived at the observatory at 7:50 am in time for breakfast and to see how they set up the equipment to see the eclipse safely.

Did you know you can build your own solar eclipse viewer ? National Geographic has a step by step tutorial.

One of the gentleman there had built his own specialized sun filters for binoculars and loaned them to us to take a look. We are looking forward to building some for next year's eclipse.

We had to mover around a little to get the best view but it was really worth it.  The whole experience lasted just over two hours.

This is a reflection of the sun and the moon passing over the bottom right.  If you look closely you can see a number of sun spots.  I just found a great site that has some information on photographing eclipses.  I'm really keen to learn how as next year there will be another annular eclipse over Melbourne.

We are really looking forward to next years eclipse (29 April 2014 at 3.59 PM).  Have any of you witnessed an eclipse ?

Blessings
Chareen

Future Solar Eclipses for Australia 

Hoping for the Butterfly - Mr T

Meet my first born whose name means  

"A gift of the Lord who brings Him much honor."

On this blog he is known as Mr T, his story begins 20 years ago.  We received news of our pregnancy during the week of our first wedding anniversary.   

I was around six month pregnant and teased my husband that I hoped he had bought me a 21st birthday gift. His reply was to lean over rub my pregnant roundness smile at me and say "Sure here it is . . . " I just laughed at him because I was due on the first of July.  Three weeks before my 21st.

Long story short I developed Bells' Palsy went into hospital to be induced and came home still pregnant. God's ways are higher than ours.Well the due date came and went, so did one week, two weeks and then the third week of July arrived. 5 am on the 22 July my time arrived and that afternoon on my 21st birthday God gave me an eternal birthday gift.  A beautiful living breathing 4.25 kg (9.25 lb) healthy first born son.

Our journey together consisted of three eye operations (Strabismus Surgerys) on both eyes {one at 9 months one at 11 months and one at 3 and a half years}, two immigrations and home schooling.


Broken and missed dreams
Our journey through the teen years has seen many doors close for Mr T

• On the day he went for his interview to join the Air force he learned that the day before the Australian government had altered the criteria and he could no longer join because he is not an Australian citizen.
• He started his second job and two months into his work he slipped and fell. Thought he had not hurt himself.  No paperwork was done.  Little did we know that he had ruptured a disc in his spine that would require Lumbar Discectomy spinal surgery six weeks later and close his dream of becoming an IT technician.
• It took him over a year to recover.
• Last year Mr T developed a mystery numbness in his legs which led to him being in hospital for a week and has him now walking with the support of a crutch and a year long journey of not being able to obtain paid employment.  No options for government support due to us being New Zealand citizens living in Australia.  
• He applied for a student loan and had that door close because he is not an Australian citizen.

Watching my son walk this journey has been heart breaking. I would like to thank Susan for challenging me to look at him and see the butterfly in the cocoon I need to look at him as my Heavenly Father does.  This is His child and He says of this child

My Responsibility
My role now is to allow the butterfly to finish growing in the cocoon of the Lord's time.  He is able to do more than I could ever hope or dream.  I need to allow God's perfect timing. The Lord will release this butterfly (my son) from his cocoon in His perfect time and place.

Our inner selves wait [earnestly] for the Lord; 

He is our Help and our Shield.  

Psalm 33:20

I would like to encourage any of you with a teen in your care that does not seem to be finding themselves or too many doors seem to close for them that the Lord has a plan and a hope for them.  In the flesh we may  despair and wonder but in His care we have a hope and a future for their final outcome.  He loves them and knows the plans for their future.

Blessings
Chareen

During the month of May I would like to introduce each of my children to you.

• 8 May - Releasing Butterflies this May
• 15 May - Hoping for the Butterfly - Mr T
• 22 May - Anticipating the Butterfly - Miss J
• 29 May - Preparing the Butterfly  - Sir N

--ooOoo--

May is Ichthyosis Awareness Month. I will be partaking in a month long blog hop in honor of Peter and other children with Ichthyosis. Release the butterflies is more than about children with a rare skin disorder it's about each and every one of our children.

Susan will be having a weekly link up.  Please join me in celebrating each and every child and just how special they truly are.

Here is Susan's Schedule
Links will be added here as the posts go live.
Release the Butterflies Posts:

1. Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Susan  Embrace the Wild Child, Release the Butterflies
Nicole Releasing the Butterflies. Turtle...
Lisa All the Same and Yet Different
2. Wednesday, May 15, 2013
   Susan Giving the Butterfly Time to Emerge
   Nicole Releasing the Butterflies. Bug...
3. Wednesday, May 22, 2013
4. Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Giveaways

1. Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids Bundle (ends 5/12)
2. Character Trails, a Review and Giveaway! (ends 5/19)
3. Monday, May 20, 2013
4. Monday, May 27, 2013

Freebies

1. Thursday, May 9, 2013 Preschool Butterfly Printables Pack
2. Thursday, May 16, 2013
3. Thursday, May 23, 2013

Together Everyone Achieves More

Today's topic form Homeschool Help is Co-Op…or Not? Why? or Why Not? Over the span of my homeschooling years I have had the privilege of being involved in several co-ops both in New Zealand and Australia. Some were formal and some informal. I attribute a lot of what I've learned about home education to the wonderful ladies who shared so generously about homeschooling and from themselves with my children.  Without them I would have quit a long time ago. I find that fewer mom's are joining co-ops these days and are using blogs and forums to replace their personal support group/network. We are gregarious by nature and I would really encourage you to find and join a local like minded group as there are many benefits. You will build some amazing friendships as well as experience some great days together. The biggest benefit is the support you will receive from some amazing mom's.

Definition 
Homeschool co-op: This is when two or more homeschooling families choose to learn something together. It can be as a once off class or a regular meet up for a month or a year. It is different from school as the parents never drop their children and leave.  All parents are involved in someway or another.  Depending on the co-op structure this could be weekly involvement or on a roster basis.

Twelve years ago I did a conference where I learned the acronym for TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More.  There is so much truth in this statement. There is strength in numbers and if you are part of a co-op you will benefit from this strength. 

I decided to look up the definition of the word team I really liked this one I discovered. Definition of TEAM from the Business Dictionary

"A group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members

1. operate with a high degree of interdependence,
2. share authority and responsibility for self-management,
3. are accountable for the collective performance, and
4. work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s).

A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members."

Types

• Once a week teaching programs such as Classical Conversations
• Weekly / monthly co-op days by a specific support group
• Weekly days to teach a specific subject (history, art, science, etc)
• Community Education centers often have co op groups to join (social, art, cooking, book club etc) Our local center offers computer subjects.
• Informal groups (bible study, Mom's groups, etc)
• Formal Co-ops

Benefits

• Support and encouragement for you the mom.
• Costs less to do some activities because the cost is shared
• Enrichment
• Someone to help share the teaching load
• Socialization New friends made with similar interests
• Sharing the educational process load
• Challenging and stretching your student's ability by someone other than you.

Consider
There are a few things to consider when starting or joining a co-op

• What are the religeous beliefs of the group ?
• How often will they meet ? (day, time, length of time)
• Where will you meet and what's the cost ?
• What will the cost be for the activities/materials be ? Who will look after the money ? Who are they accountable to ?
• What will you do about snacks ? (bring your own ? consider food allergies )
• Who will lead ? (roster, how many leaders ?)
• Will you use a formal or informal structure ?
• Are you using a specific curriculum and is everyone happy to do so ?
• Clean up duties. How will you share the load ?
• Contact details.  Will these go into a directory ? Are you happy to share this information ?
• Co ordinating.  Who is the central go to person ?

On the WWW

• Homeschool Co-op's on Pinterest
• What is a Homeschool Co-op? over at Homeschooling ETC
  
• Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out by Carol Topp
• How to Start a Homeschool Co-op and Make it Thrive! over at Catholic Icing
• How to Start a Field Trip Co-op over at The homeschool Classroom
• A Charlotte Mason Homeschool Co-op over at Smalltown Homeschool
• 5 Reasons to Consider Homeschool Co-ops over at So you call yourself a Homeschooler.
• What Exactly is a homeschool co-op ? Lets Homeschool High School.
• 5 days of Homeschooling Co-op
  Who needs one anyway ?
  What are the basics
  Coordinating the Co-op

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12

Be encouraged and inspired let others help you carry this burden.  As a homeschool Mom you are not alone and there are plenty of Mom's out there that would love to support and encourage you.  Take it slow and find the right place for you and your family.

Blessings
Chareen

This week

• Bernadette takes a look at Beneficial Co-op(eration)and why she is looking forward to starting or joining a co-op
• Julie ponders on How does homeschool co-op work?  and shares three diferent ways that a co-op can run
• Hwee shares some thoughts on are there Our Co-op Experience.
• Savannah discusses The Ins and Outs of Co-Ops and asks "Why are you participating ?" 
• Lucinda ponders The Pros and Cons of Joining a Homeschool Co-op with some tips on getting the benifits of a co-op even when joining one is not right for your family.
• Nicole says Yeah or Nay ? shares some tips on how to evaluate a co-op before you join.
• Erin notes that co-ops are not common in Australia and shares how she creates synergy.

 ---ooOoo---

Linking with

Red Ants Teamwork Illustration Stock Image By SweetCrisis